Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Reforming Competition and Consumer Policy

Kwasi Kwarteng: I wish to inform the House that the Government has today published its response to the consultation ‘Reforming Competition and Consumer Policy – Driving growth and delivering competitive markets that work for consumers’, which was published in July 2021. In this response the Government reaffirms its commitment to boosting consumer rights and preventing scams and rip-offs. This includes modernising the existing framework of consumer rights to better reflect today’s shopping practices and in particular increasing digitalisation. We set out an ambitious set of proposals to enhance enforcement of consumer rights, by sharpening the powers of the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) and the courts, delivering our manifesto commitment to tackle consumer rip-offs and bad business practices. The response sets out reforms to competition law to further the dynamism of UK markets, and ensuring the CMA is able to act quickly and effectively to support this. Implementing these reforms will create a prosperous economy where consumers can engage in markets with full confidence that they will get a good deal; and where vigorous competition drives growth and innovation while minimising burdens on business. This agenda was consulted on in summer 2021, and received strong support from a broad range of interested parties and stakeholders. We received 188 written responses to the consultation, and further engaged directly with stakeholders in a series of roundtables and meetings on specific matters to determine how to best implement these ideas. We are grateful for the views received through the consultation process and will use these views to refine our reform programme and seize the opportunity to Build Back Better. The Government has also published today: The results of a UK consumer protection study; anda post-implementation review of the Competition Appeal Tribunal Rules 2015, including the response to the related call for evidence of March 2021. Copies of the consultation response, together with the other documents, may also be found online at:https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/reforming-competition-and-consumer-policyhttps://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/post-implementation-review-of-the-competition-appeal-tribunal-rules-2015-call-for-evidencehttps://www.gov.uk/government/publications/consumer-protection-study-2022

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Accountability for atrocities in Ukraine

Elizabeth Truss: The Government is appalled by the atrocities being committed in Ukraine by Russian forces, including the targeting of civilians, mass graves, and rape and sexual violence being used as weapons of war. We will hold the Putin regime accountable for its crimes.The UK has been at the forefront of international efforts to ensure there is no impunity.The UK led a group of 37 other States to refer the atrocities in Ukraine to the International Criminal Court (ICC) – the largest group referral in the ICC’s history (now supported by 42 States). The ICC Prosecutor, Karim Khan QC, has jurisdiction to prosecute perpetrators for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. We are working with allies to provide the ICC with support for its investigation. We have provided £1 million additional funding to the ICC, together with technical assistance from military and police personnel.We have worked with partners to establish a Commission of Inquiry through the UN Human Rights Council, and a fact finding Mission of Experts under the OSCE Moscow Mechanism. The OSCE Moscow Mechanism is a long standing and well-established process to address human rights concerns within an OSCE country. The Mechanism has been in place since 1991 and was agreed by all OSCE participating States, including Russia. Investigations and reports are undertaken by independent experts that examine information from a range of sources.The Moscow Mechanism report was published on 13 April and found credible evidence of Russian war crimes, from the torture, rape and killing of innocent civilians to the forced deportation of over 500,000 people.Sir Howard Morrison QC was appointed by the Attorney General to support the Ukrainian Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova’s domestic investigations into war crimes.The preservation and collection of evidence is vital. The UK is funding independent organisations to gather evidence of war crimes. The Metropolitan Police has set up an online reporting tool for witnesses, including refugees to submit evidence. The Foreign Secretary launched a £10 million Civil Society Fund to support organisations in Ukraine, including those helping women and girls and people affected by conflict-related sexual violence.On 13 April, the Minister of State, Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, jointly launched the Murad Code at the United Nations Security Council alongside Nobel Peace Prize Winner Nadia Murad and the Institute for International Criminal Investigations. The Code is a vital step to ensure justice for survivors of sexual violence by setting global standards for the safe and effective gathering of evidence from survivors and witnesses, including in Ukraine.Following the horrific images in Bucha and other towns, on 5 April under the UK’s Presidency, the United Nations Security Council held a meeting with the UN Secretary General and Ukrainian President Zelenskyy. On 7 April the United Nations General Assembly voted overwhelmingly to suspend Russia from the Human Rights Council.We will continue to work with Ukraine, partners and international mechanisms in their investigations and to collect and preserve evidence of war crimes in Ukraine. Those responsible will be held to account.